Village Sakura
by klamisid
Summary: When Sakura accepted the mission, the last person she ever expected to meet was Uchiha Madara. MadaSaku
1. Resurrected From the Dead?

**Village Sakura: Chapter One**

_Resurrected From the Dead? _

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It was a pleasant morning for the villagers of the tiny Megumi village. The sky was as blue as sapphires and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The birds were singing; the flowers were dancing; and one particular Haruno Sakura's clock started wailing at exactly 6:30 a.m. on the bedside table.

After exactly two seconds, Sakura slid her body upward against the headboard, reached for her alarm clock and promptly subdued it. She placed it back gently and swung her legs over to her right to slip her tiny feet into her pink fluffy bedroom slippers. Stretching a bit here and craning her neck to pop some bones back into place there, she started to make her way to the bathroom to freshen up for the day.

Things had fallen into a routine after a month in this peaceful border village. Every seven in the morning, Sakura reported at the village clinic; every six in the evening, she packed up and headed home. Occasionally she would stop by the bar after work, hoping to catch some news about any odd happenings – namely attacks by the rouge ninjas that recently became active around this area. It was, after all, her mission to investigate the activities of these remnant rebels and to curb their behaviours before more innocent people were hurt.

It had been five years since the Fourth Secret Ninja War ended. The Hidden Villages had emerged victorious and Akatsuki was thoroughly crushed. Uchiha Madara died by Naruto's Futon Rasengan and Gaara's sand made sure he was buried a thousand feet under. Zetsu died a rather unglorified and pathetic death for an S-class missing ninja. Some Mist Ninja performed a rather simple looking jutsu out of desperation that started draining the plant ninja of fluids. Zetsu started to wilt, and eventually dried up, just like that. Perhaps the only reason for caution would be Danzo, who was supposedly killed by the battle between him and Sasuke however, was rumoured to have escaped and was now hiding in an unknown location.

He really was a stubborn old man, but no longer much of a threat to anyone these days. Ever since the Fourth Ninja War ended, the Hidden Villages have been working together closely to ensure peace in the Ninja world. Every single village was on the lookout for Danzo, and when you had all six Great Shinobi Villages against you, you weren't much of a threat.

Things had been running rather smoothly otherwise. After the war that brought much destruction to all, nobody was prepared emotionally, physically or financially for another conflict. Everyone was on their best behaviours; peace was finally in the air. Of course, there were some occasional hiccups along the way. Various rouge ninja groups had tried to usurp small ninja villages, but all failed anyway due to the interference of larger neighbouring countries.

In fact, the very reason why Sakura was right here in Megumi village was because of these rouge ninjas. Just a week before Sakura arrived, their village doctor had been murdered brutally, and a large quantity of medications stolen. And from the kunais and shurikens left behind by these amateur ninjas (no stealth at all!), the panicked villagers immediately called upon Konoha for help.

"Sakura! Come in here!" Tsunade had shouted across the hall that day, "I've got just the mission for you. Simple lookout duty coupled with a spot to be their village doctor. Pay's decent too. You set out tonight and come back in two, three months. You'll take it, right?"

"Tonight, shishou?" Sakura asked as she entered the Hokage's room.

Tsunade flapped her wrist casually at Sakura and said, "Yes, tonight. I know, I know, no need to thank me. Your rent ends today and your landlady has already made arrangements to haul your ass out of your apartment if you don't pay up by tomorrow. By the time you get back from this mission, you'll have enough money to pay up for a good few months."

Sakura's face flushed pink. Trust Tsunade to announce her bankruptcy to the world so nonchalantly. "Er…no Shishou, it's not that. Can I leave tomorrow morning instead?"

"Hmm? Why?" Tsunade quirked her eyebrow.

"I…um, I sort of have a date tonight." Sakura coughed it out; trying her best to ignore the jaws of the two ANBU guards by the door that had miraculously fell to the floor. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. She was 23 for goodness sakes! Most of her peers were already _married_. As a shinobi, she was well on her way to joining the old-maid-kunoichi-squad, and a lifetime of Ino's mockery.

The sannin's eyebrow flew sky high and her eyes twinkled with laughter. "Really? Who's the brave, unlucky guy this time?"

"Shishou!"

"It's not really a secret that every guy you go out with ends up being dragged home with ten broken bones, you know? Naturally, I'm curious to who so desperately wants to die tonight."

"That's just because Naruto's too overprotective!" Sakura folded her arms and huffed. "This time will be different, I just know it. Naruto thinks I have a fever anyway. He won't be bothering Izumi-san and I tonight."

"Who's Izumi-san?" A frightfully familiar voice came booming from behind Sakura. A voice that could only belong to one loud and rude Uzumaki Naruto.

A chill ran down Sakura's spine.

"Sakura~chan! Why didn't you tell me you were going out tonight? I thought you were ill, or is that bastard forcing you?"

Suddenly all of Sakura's dreams of a romantic undisturbed candlelight dinner came crashing down. "Nothing, Naruto. Nothing." She growled lowly. "I'll take the mission and leave tonight, shishou."

Sakura walked forward forlornly to snatch the mission scroll from Tsunade who was now trying to suppress her laughter desperately. As she turned about to exit the room, she shot Naruto a death glare (who looked at her with innocent puppy eyes), then sighed heavily at her luck before moving out.

Now, one month later in a village far away from Naruto and his zero EQ, recalling the past still made Sakura's shoulder droop in the motel room she was in. If not for Naruto, who knows, Sakura could have met her prince charming that night. Izumi was, after all, pretty qualified on paper – ANBU division captain, 25 years old, and liked to read the same mystery and horror novels Sakura liked. They could have been _soulmates_… but now thanks to Naruto, Sakura would remain and die a single, unwanted and unloved girl.

_I hate Naruto. It's entirely his __fault. _Sakura thought vehemently to herself as she slung her medical bag over her shoulder and headed out her room door.

She walked down the stairs to the lobby of the motel and was greeted by Eniki, the receptionist of the motel whom she suspected had a crush on her. And though she was secretly pleased at this fact, deep down inside of her she knew that she would never be with Eniki for the simple reason that he wasn't a ninja, and…that his silver/grey hair reminded her a bit too much of her sensei.

"Sakura-san, are you feeling alright? You look quite down today. Want me to get you a cup of coffee to brighten up your day?" Eniki looked worriedly at Sakura.

"Good morning Eniki. No, it's okay. I'm fine, thank you." She smiled and waved goodbye at Eniki while reaching for the main door handle. Ever since Sakura had felt the vibes that Eniki may fancy her, she tried her best to keep a distance from him. She knew how painful rejection could be, and how having false hopes further escalated the pain. By tyring to weed out his feelings from the very start, Sakura had hoped to spare Eniki from such agony.

Eniki gave her an unconvinced look. "Sakura-san, if there's anything troubling you, don't hesitate to tell me alright?"

Sakura kept the door ajar to reply, "Sure, I will, thanks" before shutting it gently behind her.

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The day passed by uneventful at the clinic. There were only patients coming in to cure common flu, fever and other minor illnesses that only required Sakura to prescribe some common drugs. While she could use chakra to heal them instantly, many of her patients were civilians and felt uncomfortable at the thought of allowing their body to be subjected to chakra healing.

It was nearing six in the evening and everyone in the clinic was restless. There were no more patients to be tended to, and little paperwork to be filed. To facilitate in passing time, the nurses in the clinic proceeded to huddle themselves in a cosy corner of the clinic to chat, as per usual. Initially, Sakura made an effort to join their conversation, thinking that perhaps there would be clues on the rouge ninja group amidst their talk of marriage and love.

However, as the weeks passed by, Sakura was not only frustrated by the superficial content of their chatter, she also suffered a mild bout of depression about her non-existent love life after each gossip session.

Hence, Haruno Sakura would busy herself with other things while her nurses chit-chatted. As Sakura brought out the third thickest medical file to rearrange its contents (again), her left ear that had been secretly eavesdropping caught on something unusual and different from their usual tête-à-tête.

She wheeled her chair closer to her nurses and asked, "Sorry, could you guys repeat that again?"

Haku, the pretty nurse with big doll eyes, silky raven hair and a million boyfriend-wannabes lined up, after recovering from a shock at their boss's sudden appearance, asked, "Repeat what, Dr. Haruno?"

"The part about some strange man in the mountains?"

"Oh, you mean Madara?" Riku interjected.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Madara? Uchiha _Madara?!_"

"Well…we're not too sure about his family name." Haku answered, choosing her words carefully since her boss didn't look too happy at the name.

Nodding along to her colleague's words, Tamiki added, "No one really knows much about him. He lives somewhere in the forest on Megumi Mountain behind the river. I think he only came into the village two, three years ago?"

Trying to calm her escalating heartbeat at this piece of information, Sakura probed more. "Could you tell me more about him? How does he look like, what he works as? Things like that."

The three nurses gave each other puzzled looks at their boss's sudden interest in their resident woodcutter, but obliged to Sakura's request nonetheless.

"Madara, he, doesn't come down the mountain very often. And when he does, it's only for a very short period of time to deliver firewood and buy daily necessities." Tamiki explained.

"Firewood?" Sakura asked.

The three nurses nodded. "He became our regular woodcutter ever since he moved in. We're very grateful actually, especially in winter times like these. He comes down to town every Sunday to deliver firewood to Ichiro's shop, and leaves not longer than an hour after."

"How about his looks?"

"Oh, um…since no one really sees him that often except Ichiro, we can't be too precise in our description. Hmm, he has short black hair, slightly spiky…"

_Short black hair!_

"…a patch over one of his eyes. Was it the right or left one, Riku?"

Riku shrugged.

_One damaged eye!_

"And…also his face is sort of…disfigured."

Now Sakura was _really_ interested in this Madara person.

"Disfigured? How so?"

"I really don't know how to describe it. When you see him, you'll know what I mean."

"I see…" Sakura nodded non-committal, attention already shifting to the possibilities and probabilities of her stumbling upon a very important valuable piece of information. If the Madara they were talking about was the Madara she knew, the kages of every village should be notified immediately; a team of highly professional shinobi sent in to neutralize him before he plans another world domination plan. To survive Naruto's rasengan was no easy feat, let alone his Futon Rasengan. Sakura didn't think it was possible. He must truly be immortal.

And from the disturbing similarities their Madara shared with whom once was the number one enemy of all shinobi, it seems like a little hike up the mountain was this evening was in store for Sakura.

But first, a letter to Tsunade, just in case anything serious happens tonight. She'd have to gather Fuchi and Ryoka too, to accompany her up and to help her out if Madara attacks suddenly.

It was now five minutes past six. Seeing that their boss seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, the three nurses of Megumi Clinic packed up and left quietly, only starting to gossip again, this time excitedly speculating the reasons behind Sakura's keen interest in Madara, after exiting the clinic.

The pink haired medic herself left not too long after. Instead of heading back towards her motel, she turned the opposite direction to the neighbourhood Ramen stall.

"Welcome to Ramen Ramen! Today's special is… Sakura-san? Is anything wrong? You look quite flustered, or perhaps it's the cold, I could be wrong, who knows? Do you want a bowl of my special miso pork ramen? Or do you want some–"

Sakura silently wondered why she didn't chose to inform Ryoka instead.

"Fuchi, no I'm not here for–"

"We also have vegetarian friendly ramen if you want. I mean, I know girls these days, always wanting to go on a diet. Haha. But you look great–"

"Fuchi? Fuchi! Stop. No I am not here for Ramen. Pack up your ninja equipment; inform Ryoka. We meet under the big oak tree by the river at 7 sharp." Sakura ordered. The occupants of the little Ramen stall grew deadly silent and all eyes were on the both of them. "We're going up the mountain tonight. Uchiha Madara might have been spotted."

Immediately, Fuchi lost his aloof façade and his face hardened. "Are you sure Sakura-san? Did Uzumaki-san not kill Madara five years ago?"

"I sure hope I'm wrong." Sakura answered solemnly. "I've got to pack my own things right now and send a letter to inform the Hokage. I will also drop by to visit Ichiro to gather more information about this man and his whereabouts. Remember: tell Ryoka, river at seven."

Fuchi nodded and Sakura turned about to head toward the post office.

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"A-according to I-I-Ichiro, Madara's hut is located on the North-western part, about three quarters near the p-peak of the mountain. We should be nearing it soon. S-s-stay alert. There might be tr-traps around." Sakura instructed the two chunin tagging behind through chattering teeth.

"T-there's a blizzard c-coming it s-seems. I-I heard that b-b-blizzards are common in Megumi d-during winter." Ryoka trudged after Fuchi and Sakura with his arms wrapped around himself.

Fuchi opened his mouth to join the conversation but Sakura hushed him. "S-save your energy and warmth, we'll be n-needing it."

More than happy to oblige, the trio continued their journey in silence as the icy cold wind continued to relentlessly freeze their bones.

Not too long after, Fuchi stopped in his tracks. His teammates followed suit. Approximately a hundred yards to their left, was a tiny wooden cabin with orange-glowing windows that looked so very _very _warm and so very _very_ inviting.

But, one had to remember that said cabin might also belong to shinobis' worst enemy. And when you had that in mind, no matter how warm and cosy the cabin seemed, there was no way you were going to knock on the door, shake hands with the owner, wrap yourselves under layers of thick blankets and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate together while waiting for the snow storm to pass.

"O-okay, both of y-you find some s-shelter underneath separate b-big trees and w-watch the cabin." Sakura instructed the both of them and pointed at various trees around the area that they could hide in. "I'll m-make contact with Madara. I-If you feel a s-spike in anybody's chakra, Ryoko, a-activate the scroll immediately. Fuchi, infiltrate t-the cabin, u-understood?"

"Y-yes!" Fuchi and Ryoka chorused.

"I-it might take the w-whole night. K-keep yourselves warm. If in t-two hours time n-nothing happens, it p-probably means h-he's not our Madara. I-I might want t-to ask h-him about things regarding the m-murder i-if that's the case. Y-you two go b-back first. W-worst comes to worst, I will a-activate my scroll."

"Okay." Fuchi answered.

Ryoka gave a terrible sneeze before managing to say, "Go-oo-good luck, S-Sakura-san.

The two Konoha chunin leaped off to their respective trees to keep watch. Sakura took in a deep breath to ready herself ( instantly regretting doing so because the icy air made her even colder), and plunged her foot forward into the now inch thick layer of snow covering the forest ground. As she approached the cabin door, her heart was thumping harder. Whether from the mounting excitement and fear, or to pump more warm blood to her warmth deprived organs, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was about to face a dangerous man whom the whole world had assumed to be dead for a good five years.

The more she thought about the whole Madara issue, the more she believed him to be _the_ Madara.

It was an unreasonable notion. After all, there may be a million other people named Madara with short black hair and one bad eye; just like how there were a million other people named Sakura. But a fatigued Sakura battling to maintain her core body temperature didn't have more energy to debate with her irrational conclusion.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Sakura waited at the doorstep rubbing her hands together.

A few seconds passed. No answer.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Still no answer.

"Helllooooo? Is anyone in there?" Sakura tried her best to shout above the howling winds.

"No, there's no one in there now, but there soon is going to be."

Sakura gave a yelp and turned around to face the voice.

A tall man standing a good head or two taller than her, with a scarf covering half his face, a black pirate patch covering his left eye, and with hair as dark as the night, stared straight back at her with his good onyx eye.

"Uchiha Madara…" she whispered.

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_To be continued._


	2. The Other Side of the Mask

A/N: Happy New Year everyone!

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Village Sakura: Chapter Two**

_The Other Side of the Mask_

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"Uchiha Madara?" The man echoed her, surprised. He surveyed the pink haired lady, and gave an amused snort.

For a split second, Sakura thought she saw something shift in his eye when she blurted out the name, but it was gone as soon as it came. Before she could ponder longer, the man spoke again, "Oh yes, I am the mighty Uchiha Madara who died by Konoha's jinchuuriki five years ago. Why, little miss, you have found me! Now, cower in fear before my mighty power!"

Sakura blinked at the man.

Was he _mocking_ her? Of all the scenarios she had conjured up in her head, she had expected weapons to come flying at her, sharingans to muddle up her mind with genjutsus, or herself to be absorbed into Madara's dimension jutsu… Mockery was definitely _not_ something she had in mind.

Sakura stood dumbfounded as the man started shaking his head and chuckling to himself. He fumbled around his jacket's pocket and fished out a rusty old key.

"Well, miss? Are you just going to block my door and cause us to become the world's first human snowman out here?"

The pink-haired kunoichi jolted out of her stupor and hastily stepped aside. "Sorry."

The man moved forward to open the door which creaked in protest as it swung past thirty five degrees. He rubbed his snow boots vigorously against the door mat to shake off the snow and entered the little hut. Sakura, who was still in a state of confusion, peered in to watch the man take off his coat and throw it over a two-seater sofa in front of a fireplace.

He turned around to face the door and saw Sakura still rooted in her position. Sighing, he made his way past the sofa again and leaned against the wooden door.

"What are you still standing there like an idiot? Come in!" He made a welcoming gesture with his hand, "I don't want to be responsible for allowing a young lady like you to freeze out here."

Sakura was having quite a fair bit of trouble registering that her suspicions had been wrong all along, and stared at Madara like an idiot, with her eyes out wide and her jaw wide open. A few snowflakes landed on her tongue and her mind amused itself by musing that they had tasted rather horrible, like charcoal.

Having spent three whole hours thoroughly convincing herself and her two chunnin subordinates that the feared Uchiha Madara was on the loose, Sakura was stunned to find a differing reality. Hesitantly, she asked disbelievingly (because it never hurt to double check), "You're not…Uchiha Madara?"

"Look, I don't know who you expected to find here, but I am definitely not the Madara you are looking for, okay? And if you're quite happy with that answer, can you please come in already? Or else, please just leave, though that would not be a very wise choice considering that a snow storm's heading this way shortly." Madara was starting to sound annoyed. "And could you put away...that kunai? It's quite intimidating."

Sakura looked down at her right arm that was still holding a kunai that was pointed threateningly at his jugular.

"Oh, okay. Sorry about that." She lowered her arm, which had grown quite stiff. "And thank you." Sakura mumbled in appreciation to the ground and stepped right into the hut. Feeling quite embarrassed at her baseless harassment of this poor innocent woodcutter, she found herself a cosy little corner in front of the fireplace and sat down quietly, like a child who had just been reprimanded for being too silly.

Madara the woodcutter peered out into the darkness that was quickly turning white for awhile before closing the door. Without saying a word, he moved toward the back of the hut and left Sakura feeling quite awkward in the living room. There was the sound of the opening, then closing of a drawer, and footsteps heading back out to the fireplace.

"Here, this'll keep you warm." He said as he tossed over a thick woolen blanket.

She caught it the flying blanket with ease and quickly wrapped it around her petite frame. "Thanks."

"No problem." Madara answered before heaving himself onto the only sofa in the living room. He, too, wrapped a similar blanket around himself.

There was a moment of discomfited silence that cackled in the cold winter air in sync with the merry fire before Sakura decided enough was enough. She shifted her body slightly so as to be able to see Madara and said, "Um, you know, sorry about just now. I didn't mean to come uninvited."

Madara, who had been staring absent-mindedly at the dancing flames, answered her without leaving his gaze from the orange fire. "Apology accepted."

Determined to make the best out of this visit (since this would probably be her last time up this treacherous mountain), Sakura continued talking. "I'm Haruno Sakura by the way. I'm the doc-"

"I know." Madara interrupted, eye still fixated on the fireplace.

"Pardon?"

The dark-haired man finally turned to look at her. "I mean, I know who you are. You are the ninja Konoha sent to replace Dr. Nobita. Haruno Sakura, apprentice of the Hokage herself. Excellent medic-nin and saved quite a few lives on the battlefield a few years back during the war."

"How do you know so much about me?" Sakura asked carefully, not quite sure what to make of his seemingly extensive knowledge of her and her skills, even if she was quite famous in the ninja arena…

Madara chuckled lightly, "I wouldn't be a very good ninja if I didn't know about people like you!"

Inner Sakura's ego soared at this statement; outer Sakura feigned ignorance. "People like me?" she asked.

"Well, you _are_ the Kyuubi's teammate, and your hair colour makes people hard to forget you… Naturally, ninjas from small country's like mine, were told to flee when we saw you."

"You were a _ninja_? I thought they said you were a woodcutter!"

Madara nodded solemnly. "_Ex_-ninja from Rain."

"R-rain? Then your leader was–"

"Uchiha Madara, yes. I believed he died by your teammate's hand?"

Sakura opened her mouth to offer her condolences, but quickly shut it when she realized that she was not in the least sorry for Madara's death. If anything else, she was extremely happy about it, together with the majority of the new peace-seeking ninja community.

"Um, yes, Naruto killed him." Sakura replied nervously. This subject was getting a little touchy right now. And though Rain Country had been neutralized after Akatsuki was utterly demolished, one could never be too sure about where the loyalties of their ex-ninjas lay. "Wow…um, there are a lot of Madara's in Rain huh?" She finished lamely.

"I personally knew three others."

"Oh."

Silence.

The wind outside howled louder. And out from the tiny window, Sakura could only see violent tornadoes of snow flying all about.

Sakura gave a little cough. "So, Madara, why did you choose to leave the life of a ninja?"

"I was injured during the war. I lost this eye," he pointed to the pirate patch, "and had _this_ done to my face. Besides, my chakra gates seem to have been damaged during the war."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't mould chakra anymore." Madara brought forth his right arm from beneath the blanket and waved it at Sakura. "See? I've been trying it for months, but nothing ever comes out."

True enough, Sakura could not feel any foreign chakra signatures apart from hers in the vicinity.

Wait.

Only her chakra? What happened to Fuchi's and Ryoka's?

At the sudden realization, Sakura jerked her head toward the nearby window. She closed her eyes and concentrated on scanning the surrounding for their presence.

"What's the problem?" Madara asked, shifting his body sideways and followed her gaze toward the window.

"Fuchi and Ryoka. I can't sense their presence anymore." Sakura answered, her eyebrows furrowing closer together every passing second as her mind scrambled to conclude possibilities of their whereabouts.

Madara gave a funny look that bordered between surprise and worry. "There are others from Konoha out there?" He asked, and then mumbled something under his breath that Sakura couldn't quite catch. Not that she was that interested in what he said anyway, she had better things to do, like save her teammates before they turn into lovely ice sculptures.

Sakura nodded and stood up. "I have to get them in. They'll die out there in a blizzard like this!" She slipped the heavy blanket off her shoulders and placed it on the sofa arm.

She was about to take a first step toward the door before Madara himself stood up and blocked her way.

"Madara-san?"

"I cannot allow you to go out in such weather. _You_ will be killed by the storm. It's best to stay inside."

"No. As a team leader I cannot allow-" Sakura tried to sidestep Madara.

Madara moved in sync with Sakura. "As a team leader, you should ensure your own safety. I'm sure you gave them further instructions regarding this visit?"

"But I instructed for them to leave only after two hours. Only an hour has passed. Now, if you will _please_ move aside…"

Refusing to budge, Madara deadpanned, "Didn't you say you couldn't sense their chakra signatures anywhere?"

Sakura was beginning to feel very agitated at Madara. Why was he trying so hard to stop her from getting out there? Since when did he become so concerned for her well-being, even if he _did_ invite her into his hut… She just couldn't understand the reason for the determination behind him wanting to stop her so badly.

"Yes. But-"

"They've left to find refuge somewhere else. Who wouldn't, Sakura? Just look at the storm out there. I mean I've heard about Konoha ninjas being oh-so loyal to their team leader and all, but would anyone be so _stupid_ to get themselves frozen to death?" For a ninja who couldn't mold chakra anymore, he sounded pretty sure of himself.

As much as Sakura did not want to admit it, Madara did make some sense. The probability that Fuchi and Ryoka had left the forest to seek refuge was rather high, though she would have to reprimand them for forgoing instructions the next time she met them. She took another look through the window by the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of any one of them just to prove Madara wrong. But there was nothing there except the white clouds of snow darting about in the midnight air.

Still, what if they _were_ still out there… What if they had died?! What will she tell Tsunade then?

Sakura groaned.

Madara sensed her doubt and sighed. He moved out of her way and pointed toward the wooden door that was creaking in protest as the wind pounded on it.

"Fine. If you want to go out there so badly, then be my guest. You stubborn Konoha ninjas…"

With that, he turned around and headed for the back of the hut, presumably where the kitchen was located.

Sakura fought the urge to stick her tongue at his back and stormed toward the exit. Their little bicker had gotten her pretty riled up and it was safe to say that she was officially in a bad mood now. After all, who did he think he was to argue with her judgment?

The wind gave a pretty strong resistance to Sakura's strength as she struggled to push open the door. Finally, with a chakra-enhanced arm, she managed to win the wrestle and jerked the door open toward her..

The instant she opened the door, Sakura was blinded with the onslaught of snow and insanely strong winds. Her skin began to burn with the icy cold air and her bones started to stage a violent protest inside of her which carried signs calling for warmth and sensibility. Her caring mind of a team leader, on the other hand, seemed to be fighting a losing battle.

Fuchi and Ryoka had probably already left _anyway_…

From behind her, she sensed Madara enter the living room and observe with what she imagined to be smug amusement. She looked out into the bleak forest again, desperately searching for some sort of bravery to venture out into the arctic cold deep inside of her. But there was no way her muscles were going to oblige.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she stepped backward into the embracing warmth and shut the door. She heard a scoff from behind her and tried her best to ignore the flush that was quickly covering her face. With her back still facing him, she saw his shadow walk toward the sofa.

"Fancy some hot chocolate?" He asked, after sitting back down onto his torn and tattered seat.

Now _that_ sounded much more inviting than her what she previously planned to do. She spread a smile that didn't look too sheepish and turned her body around. With her head held up high, she walked toward the man who was now sipping his own mug of hot chocolate.

"Yes please, Madara-san." She answered sweetly.

He smirked and jerked his head toward the corner she had sat down before. "Yours is over there."

"Thanks." She replied, and grabbed her discarded blanket from the sofa before settling back down in her own little corner, this time with a steaming mug of hot chocolate oozing with goodness cupped in her hands.

She took a few experimental sips to avoid burning her tongue, and almost instantaneously, she felt infinitely more relaxed and warmed up, as if the hot chocolate had some magic (or drug) sprinkled into it. And now that she thought about it, the drink _did_ taste a little different from the hot chocolate she was used to drinking...

"Your hot chocolate tastes funny." She said aloud to the man who was once again lost in deep thought while staring at the fireplace.

He pulled back from his wanders and blinked at her. "Really?" He asked.

Sakura nodded and pushed her own mug toward him. "You try it."

"Okay." Madara reached out to take her mug and took a sip out of it. He paused contemplatively and peered into her mug before concluding, "Nope. I don't taste anything wrong with the chocolate."

"Oh." Sakura shrugged and took back the mug from Madara. Perhaps he had used expired sachets of cocoa powder and felt too embarrassed to admit it, she thought to herself, still refusing to believe that there was nothing wrong. After all, it wouldn't be very easy for him to find any convenience stores to stock up on his hot chocolate right here in the middle of nowhere.

Obediently, she continued sipping her drink, fully expecting Madadra to retreat back into his philosophical cocoon. However, he started fumbling around in his trouser's pocket instead. Soon enough, he conjured up a small little sachet wrapped with brown paper, the kind you found in Chinese herbal stores. Curiously, Sakura watched him pour the sachet's contents into his mouth, before he took a large gulp of hot chocolate (Sakura winced, imagining the pain and discomfort his tongue must have been subjected to at that moment) to drown it down.

"Migraine medicine," he explained, "these frigid weathers usually start hammering my head like woodpecker on drugs."

"Oh…" Sakura nodded in understanding. Then, suddenly remembering her second intent on visiting the woodcutter, she asked, "And Madara? Tell me what you know about the rouge ninja groups around here and also your thoughts on Dr. Nobita's murder."

"Well…" Madara said slowly as he lowered his cup and gathered his thoughts, "I've been staying around here for a good three years now, but the rouge ninjas haven't bothered me at all. I think that the only thing that these amateurs really ever care about is money. But why they would murder Dr. Nobita still eludes me. After all, the clinic down back there in Megumi isn't exactly rich."

"So you think that the rouge ninjas are responsible for Dr. Nobita's murder?"

"Who else would it be, Sakura?" Madara sounded surprised.

"You can never be too sure…" Sakura pondered aloud, "Why would the rouge ninjas need so much medicine? And from the report I read, they were mostly chemicals to heal and strengthen optical nerves and for skin tissue repair. And…" Sakura's words gave way to a long yawn. "And shouldn't they _at least_ have a medic-nin accompanying them to heal all these injuries?"

"Maybe…Uchiha Madara is with them?" And for the record, Madara sounded pretty serious.

Sakura gave him a measured stare.

"Or maybe…I am the one responsible for the murder. I mean, think about it Sakura, I have a disfigured face that definitely needs skin tissue repair and a damaged eye." He continued his serious facade, before his lips curled into a smile and he started chuckling at his own feeble joke, which Sakura didn't find quite funny at all.

Deciding to ignore Madara's not so humorous attempt at joking, Sakura placed her mug on the floor beside her and broke into a good long stretch.

"I'm feeling quite tired, Madara-san. Must be the weather." She said, and as if to prove it, she yawned again. "You wouldn't mind if I slept here tonight would you? The floor will do fine, together with this blanket and the fire."

Sakura's eyelids grew heavier by the passing second, and she reclined down into a horizontal position on the floor. "A big fluffy pillow will be quite…quite…"

Yawn.

She closed her eyes.

"…quite… nice." She ended with her voice tapering out toward the end.

* * *

With one good onyx eye, Madara stared at the dozing kunoichi in front of him and smirked. For an apprentice to the Godaime herself, she sure failed miserably at detecting the rather strong relaxant he had spiked her drink with.

Fine, she _did_ detect it. She just didn't bother too much about it. After all, why would sweet, caring woodcutter Madara want to hurt her anyway?

It had to be admitted that the once great and feared Uchiha Madara _had_ been caught unaware when he spotted the unmistakable pink shade of hair by his doorstep as he came in from the woods. Initially, he attributed it to the lack of light playing tricks on his eye. But as he moved closer toward the target, it became confirmed that it indeed was Haruno Sakura banging her fists down his poor termite infested wooden door.

When she uttered his name with the kunai pointed so dangerously close to his vital artery, he almost had a heart attack. How did she _ever_ find out that he was alive and kicking after her teammate had so nicely punctured every single chakra gate that he had ever owned? More importantly, how did she find out that he lived here, right in the middle of nowhere?

If he were any other man, his identity would have been given away almost instantly. It was hard to mask all these troubling panic when you know you were powerless and defenceless to stop this young lady from decapitating you on the spot if she wished to.

But, Uchiha Madara didn't live a hundred years just to become any other man. And just because he wasn't immortal anymore didn't mean he didn't have brains.

So, he played the ignorance card, which, in the end, was the right choice. And even though she doubted him at first, eventually, he liked to think that she came to believe that it wasn't Uchiha Madara she had stumbled upon, but plain old Madara the woodcutter who couldn't channel anymore chakra out of his battered body. The best lies were the ones which incorporated truth.

Madara bent down to scoop the petite kunoichi from the floor bridal style and headed for the bedroom.

He could have killed her in an instant earlier on by poisoning her drink, but had hesitated against it. If news got to Konoha that the Hokage's favourite student had been murdered, he would have to run. And whether or not he could escape the whole horde of ANBUs sent after him, he wasn't too sure. Without his chakra, he was practically civilian now. No Sharingan, no dimension jutsu, nothing.

Later on, he had decided to continue being on good terms with the Konoha ninja. She would be his source of news and insights to the happenings of the condemned village which would definitely be valuable in contribution toward his and Danzo's plan.

And maybe, if he still had the charm of his 26 year old self, which he now was back again since time no longer paused for him without his Mangenkyo Sharingan, she might even start to _like_ him, which would undoubtedly give him a great leverage over Konoha since she was rather influential back there. Wasn't there the rumour only so long ago that she loved his little Sasuke? And since the Uchiha genetics were rather stubborn, he'd reckon he looked a little like his darling successor. Though…the texture of his skin was a little off course.

Madara lowered the unsuspecting kunoichi down onto his futon. He lifted her head gingerly and tucked a big fluffy pillow underneath it. Arranging the blanket neatly around the shoulders of the sleeping young lady, Madara went about to start a neat little fire in the fireplace at the corner of the room.

From his century old wisdom, Madara had learnt not to underestimate others, even if they were being drugged by the strongest sleep inducing drug he had personally made. This meant that woodcutter Madara's façade had to be put on whenever Sakura was in sight.

When the fire was up and about, he quietly exited the room, making sure that he shut the door.

Madara left Sakura slumbering peacefully in the room while he walked toward his kitchen. Grabbing his ninja weaponry case from one of the drawers beneath the stove, Madara pulled on his thickest cloak and headed out into the forest.

It was such a pity Sakura had mentioned the existence of her two subordinates to him earlier that evening. Now, they were in for torture. Having lived here for three years, Madara knew the forest like the back of his hand. He also had the acclimatisation to the harsh winters that Fuchi and Ryoka didn't.

Madara had wondered why Sakura didn't realize this when he took his 'migraine medicine'. It was a lousy excuse he gave, but one she had gravely overlooked.

The storm had died down a little, but visibility was still very poor in the forest. The Uchiha closed his eye to focus on the presence of the other two.

There! And there!

"Just like I suspected, a bunch of loyal Konoha dogs. Wouldn't budge until two hours passed." Madara mused to himself as he fished out two shuriken from his weaponry case.

With years of practiced accuracy, he flicked his wrists at the two targets. There wasn't much of a shout or shriek of surprise, only two dull thuds as the bodies fell to the ground from the tree they were perched on. The cold must have really slowed their bodily functions and responses.

Madara trudged through the snow to the first victim and dragged him by the ninja vest before heading to where the other was.

"Hello, Fuchi and Ryoka!" He smiled pleasantly at them both who were struggling to escape his stronghold. "Sakura-san told me to take care of you. Now, be good or I'll torture you _real_ bad."

With a semi-frozen ninja in each hand, Madara laughed happily as he skipped past the wooden hut and headed deep into the frosty forest.

* * *

_To be continued._

A/N: I've always liked my Madara peppered with some Tobi on him. Much cuter, don't you agree?


End file.
